The present invention relates to an electric connector in which a locking arm and a corresponding fitting section are provided at a female connector housing and a male connector housing respectively, and in which an engagement of the locking arm with the fitting section make a locked condition between the female connector housing and the male connector housing.
FIGS. 1 to 3 show an electric connector 1 described in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-285280. The electric connector 1, which is formed as a waterproof connecter, comprises a male connector 3, a female connector 5, and a lock-confirming slider 31. A waterproof hood 13, which surrounds a hood 11 of a female connector housing of the female connector 5, is provided in front of an outer peripheral portion of a male connector housing 7 of the male connector 3.
A notch 15 is provided at an upper portion of an outer peripheral wall of the waterproof hood 13, and a locking arm 17 extends from a support 19 fronting the notch 15.
The lock-confirming slider 31 includes a slider body 37 and a lock-confirming arm 39. The lock-confirming arm 39 is inclined slightly upward, a stopper 41 projects from the undersurface of a free end portion thereof, and a supporting guide 43 projects from the front thereof.
When the male connector housing 7 is engaged with the female connector housing 9, a locking projection 23 of the locking arm 17 slides over (FIG. 2) a return-prohibiting member 35 formed on the hood 11 of the female connector housing 9, before the locking arm 17 is deformed upward. With further advancing engagement, the locking arm 17 elastically returns downward before the locking arm is locked by engagement between the locking projection 23 and the return-prohibiting member 35. The lock-confirming arm 39 is deformed upward because the stopper 41 and the supporting guide 43 are engaged with the locking projection 23. When the engagement therebetween is released, the obstacle of the stopper 41 is removed, and the lock-confirming arm 39 advances through the passage 27 (FIG. 3) with the result that the lock-confirming slider 31 arrives at the lock-confirming position.
In this electric connector, the lock-confirming slider 31 first operates when engagement and locking between the female connector housing 9 and the male connector housing 7 are completely implemented, before engagement of the locking arm 17 with the lock-confirming arm 39 is released. Consequently, confirmation of complete implementation of locking is capable of being achieved.
However, in the above-described electric connector, even if the lock-confirming slider 31 arrives at the lock-confirming position, the lock-confirming arm 39 returns to the initial position only as a result its elasticity. The confirmation of whether or not the lock-confirming slider 31 arrives with certainty at the lock-confirming position is implemented by whether or not the the return of the lock-confirming arm 39 can be felt by touch. For this reason, in order to detect with certainty the arrival of the lock-confirming slider 31 at the lock-confirming position, it is necessary to perform a pulling operation of the lock-confirming slider 31 to determine whether or not the stopper 41 is caught by the locking projection 23, with the result that the procedure for confirming the locking state is time-consuming.